Ok i just bought my 84 Berlinetta for a steal. The only problem is that it's running WAY TO RICH!!!! So i fixed the vacum and little parts that were broken, Choke Pullout, Choke Thermastat(Spelled wrong), And the EGR and got a rebuild kit for the carb but nothing still rich as ever. Thinking it was just in need of a tune i played around with it with no results. I know it's the carb but i don't know what it is. I really can think of many thing that i havent checked that it would be. So I need some idea on it PLEASE!!! I need it to pass emissions, SOON!

Welcome to thirdgen.org.

First, is you SES light coming on? If so, retrieve the trouble codes (check the FAQ section linked from the thirdgen.org homepage if you don't know how).

What adjustments have you tried on the carb? Have you checked the timing, and if so, how did you do it?

The light is not on and i used a timing gun to check it.

Did you disconnect the flat 4-wire connector that goes from the distributor base to the firewall harness when you checked the timing?

Step 1: Yank out esc distributor and replace with standard HEI distributor.

Step2: Remove computer controlled Qjet and place in future trot line weight pile. Replace said carb with aftermarket replacement of your choice or non computer controlled Qjet.

Problem fixed

Step 3: Fail emissions testing and/or inspection.

Step 4: Burn out your automatic transmission because you didn't get the throttle valve cable geometry right.

Step 5: Burn out your automatic transmission because you didn't provide for torque converter clutch lock-up.

Step 6: Use more fuel as fuel gets more expensive.

Step 7: Learn from your mistakes and put the CC carb and distributor back in and get it working right.

ppl sure have their opions here haha


any 1980-up Q jet carb is lean running no matter if its ESC/ESt or not


the government made the manufacturers lean up all the carbs in these years, by quite a lot

sounds like the carb either has too low of float level, or faulty needle seat

or leaking well plugs


they may be dripping/leaking badly, and this is a very common issue with these carbs

need to be re-leaded/sealed

there is epoxy out there on the market to fix this

i would check for it



take the carb off and make sure the bowl is full of fuel and see if there is fuel dripping out from underneath/inside of it under there


if not then it could be the electronic fuel mixture solenoid failing/faulty

also a common problem: these E4ME carbs run VERY overly rich when they are not recieving signal to the mix solenoid

make sure the computer is even geting voltage and runnig the engine

also make sure the distributor is the ECM controlled one

ECM controlled ones have two wiring harness coming out of the base of them

one with three wire and the opposite with four

if not then get one, or convert to non-ESC totally by swapping the carb for a non ECM one to match the non ECM distrib


some ppl will say to leave the ecm system intact and others will say get rid of it

only you will know which way to go with yours, it depends on many factors, including cost, time, parts availability, and technical skill level


i vote on either the ECM or the carb mix soldenoid not working

there are probably a few more ESC system parts needing work too from the sounds of it


we cant know without seeing it in person however

we are all just speculating without being able to see/hear how it runs



there are times when its better to leave the ESC intact,

when its running good or only needed a minor repair, replacing the mix control solenoid inside the carb is a minor repair

we left it all intact on the 85 elky when i took the original LG4 block and heads and crank up to the machine shop and had the crank turned down, and the block bored .030 due to wall damage, and had the heads rebuilt,
put in a 350 cam, and it runs really super strong and the carb was junk so i put another E4ME ESC carb on it i had around after replacing a few basic parts in it,
SES check engine like never has come one it runs like a brand new car

it had over 200k on it from the original owner when we started last summer, now it is painted as of yesterday,
enamel jet black solid, the lower silver SS band paint will be later on.,

next is the brand new interior we ordered and the seat is now recovered and brand new


the only thing we eliminated on this engine was the EGR and the A.I.R. tubes and pump since the lines were rusted broken

my 82 t/a on the other hand is completely converted to non ECM, totally, harness and ECM removed even, all gone

it was missing so many of the parts and so on that there was no way to get it back together and working

no point down here where there are no emissions laws or inspections


good luck